Fourth-gen Toyota Prius gearing up for Frankfurt debut

Toyota will debut the fourth-generation Prius the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show later this month, the company confirmed in a statement issued today accompanied by a solitary teaser image showing the new car’s LED tail light signature.

Additionally, the latest iteration of the world’s best-selling hybrid nameplate will be accompanied on stage at the show by the second Toyota C-HR Concept hybrid crossover.

Since the original model launched in 1997, the Prius has went on to spur Toyota’s rise to become the world’s most prominent maker of hybrid vehicles powered by its patented Hybrid Synergy Drive, one of the market’s most sophisticated system of its kind.

To date, Toyota has sold a cumulative total of over eight million hybrid-powered vehicles, with various iterations of the Prius accounting for 3.5 million units of the total. Spin-off models of the family, namely the Prius c and Prius v, add a further 1.08 million and 582,400 units respectively to the total.

Globally, majority of Toyota’s hybrid models are taken up by Japan and North America, with 3.89 and 2.78 million vehicles sold respectively in these two markets. One million Toyota hybrids were sold worldwide in the last ten months alone, indicative of strengthening demand for these vehicles.

Moving forward, Toyota reiterates its commitment to making hybrid vehicles as the core technology in its development of alternative powertrains. Recent developments include the release of Mirai – the world’s first production hydrogen fuel-cell sedan – in Japan, the US and Europe.

Picture: Official Toyota release.